O2 recruits genius AI granny to see off the scammers
Just when AI is feeling like a dystopian nightmare, here comes O2’s hero of the hour to make sense of the technology. Daisy (the ‘ai’ clue is in the name) can chat to fraudsters for hours on the phone, keeping them busy so they can’t bother the rest of us.
Daisy might seem like the perfect victim, but all the time she’s beating them at their own game. The ‘scambaiter’ has her own TikTok account and is modelled on one of the VCCP team’s real relatives for extra authenticity.
Simon Valcarcel, marketing director at Virgin Media O2, said “I’m thrilled to launch the newest member of our fraud team, Daisy: She’s our secret weapon against scammers – indistinguishable from a real person, an AI hiding in plain sight, dedicated to wasting fraudsters time. With scammers operating full-time call centres specifically to target Brits, we’re urging everyone to help play their part by forwarding-on dodgy calls and messages to 7726 for free.”
Daisy is introduced by Love Islander Amy Hart, who was herself a victim of scamming, just to underline the message that it can even happen to tech-savvy Gen Z.
It’s a vengeful delight to watch every second, as Daisy slowly frustrates the scammers with her endless patience.
MAA creative scale: 8.5